By Mathieu Normand
Published on 28 Jan 21 at 8:14
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The National Union of Sports and Health Physicians (SNMS) is stepping up to the plate at the end of January 2021. Bouncing on a column published in the JDD entitled The thirty minutes of physical activity a day is now, these doctors “urge the public authorities to do not limit access to physical activities but on the contrary to encourage them for the good health of the French ”.
The rules enacted for the curfew at 6 p.m. limit two measures that professionals had managed to obtain: the authorization to practice outdoor activity for 3 hours and that to practice physical activity on medical prescription.
Evening jogging, an outlet
Doctors sound the alert after viewing data, published by l’Onaps in particular, proving that the various restrictions which have affected the practice of sport since the start of the health crisis have consequences on the physical and mental health of the French.
“Studies have shown a certain number of patients with deteriorating health status,” explains Dr. Bruno Burel, vice-president of the union and doctor at the Rouen sports health center. Physical activity is essential to prevent this. People with diabetes, depression and hypertension, for example, have had problems. We also had an explosion of low back pain due to a sedentary lifestyle. Sedentary lifestyle which also promotes the risk of cancer or relapse after remission. “
This deterioration is observed by the professional on a daily basis with his patients. And while the situation seemed to improve in mid-December, with permission to go out 20 km from home for 3 hours, the curfew was another game-changer by preventing sport after 6 p.m.
“For people who work all day, often confined, evening jogging was their outlet,” says Dr. Burel. There, with the curfew, they do not even have the possibility of airing out except having a dog. “
“Watch out for all Covid”
The aim of the union is not to shoot a red ball on government decisions. “We are aware of the extreme complexity of things,” says Dr. Burel. But be careful, when we take measures, that we do not do Covid at all and that we look at health overall. In the name of that, we touch on many pathologies, which concern people who have not asked for much. “
Containing the transmission of the virus and promoting sports practice is not mutually exclusive, according to the doctor, provided that the rules are observed drastically and that the activity remains “individual and not collective”.
“There are undoubtedly a number of places where you can, in a little more flexible way, allow physical activity. It has not been proven, for example, that when we reopened the sports halls somewhat with very strict rules, there was only one cluster. The SNMS, which had already warned the government during key stages of the health crisis, hopes to be heard before the next decision-making.
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